Pool Ladder Safety Cover

ABSTRACT

A ladder safety cover comprising: an elongated body, where the elongated body extends along a ladder; a top bar attached to a top portion of the elongated body; a bottom bar attached to a bottom portion of the elongated body; a top securing means attached to the top bar, where the top securing means fastens to a handlebar of the ladder; and a bottom securing means attached to the bottom bar, where the bottom securing means fasten to a bottom portion of the ladder, wherein the elongated body covers a set of rungs along the ladder to prevent use of the ladder when the ladder safety cover is in place.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a covering for a pool ladder to prevent use of the ladder and thereby access to the pool when the covering is in place.

2. Description of Related Art

Swimming pools are popular sources of summer fun and total body exercise. Most pools include a ladder to assist the users when entering and exiting the water. The ladders become most useful with above ground pools because their wall height is typically over three feet. A common safety feature of the pool ladders is that they are portable to enable the user to transport or remove the ladder when the pool is not in use. This prevents unwanted or unsupervised use of the pool because then access over the wall removed. Parents of small children find this feature necessary so that their children are not using the pool when an adult is not present.

A problem commonly encountered when moving the ladders, is that they are heavy and awkward to move. The user must be able to lift the ladder itself over the pool wall and then place the ladder in a space large enough for storage. On some occasions the user may even injure themselves when moving the ladder causing strain and frustration.

Some developments have been made to address pool safety, specifically access to using the ladder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,795 by Peter F. Gannon discloses a safety ladder for above-the-ground swimming pools. The ladder is fastened on a hinge wherein as desired the ladder may be flipped up to prevent pool entry. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,075 by James E. Brett discloses a portable pool safety ladder. The ladder may be pivoted out of reach of children on a tethering strap secured within the pool. Finally, U.S. Patent Application No. 2001/0072574 by Hua Hsiang Lin discloses a swimming pool ladder cover. The ladder cover is a hard covering that prevents access to the ladder steps when the cover is in place.

While these safety devices do help prevent unwanted access into the swimming pool, they may also be burdensome for use in and of themselves. It would be desirable in the art to provide a ladder cover that prevents ladder use when the cover is in place. It would also be beneficial in the art to provide a ladder cover that is easy to fasten and remove from the ladder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide a pool ladder safety cover, configured to include all of the advantages of the prior art, and to overcome the drawbacks inherent therein.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a ladder cover that fastens to an entire length of a ladder to prevent access to the ladder rungs when the cover is in place. Another object of the present invention is to provide a ladder cover made from a flexible material to provide easy storage and movement of the cover.

To achieve the above objects, in an aspect of the present invention, a ladder safety cover is described comprising: an elongated body, where the elongated body extends along a ladder; a top bar attached to a top portion of the elongated body; a bottom bar attached to a bottom portion of the elongated body; a top securing means attached to the top bar, where the top securing means fastens to a handlebar of the ladder; and a bottom securing means attached to the bottom bar, where the bottom securing means fasten to a bottom portion of the ladder, wherein the elongated body covers a set of rungs along the ladder to prevent use of the ladder when the ladder safety cover is in place.

These together with other aspects of the present invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the present invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part of this present invention. For a better understanding of the present invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a pool ladder cover in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of a pool ladder cover in a rolled position in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of a pool ladder cover fastened to a pool in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the description of several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention relates to a covering for a pool ladder to prevent use of the ladder and thereby access to the pool when the covering is in place. The present invention provides a pool ladder safety cover as a way to prevent unwanted or unsupervised use of a pool ladder. The pool ladder safety cover includes an elongated piece of material that unrolls along the ladder. The cover is made from a flexible, slippery material to prevent climbing on the ladder rungs, and to withstand all weather conditions. When the pool ladder safety cover is in place the ladder is blocked and repeated removal of the ladder from the pool is no longer required.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a pool ladder cover 10 is shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The pool ladder cover 10 includes an elongated body 12. The elongated body 12 may be a flexible, durable, slippery, waterproof material able to withstand prolonged exposure to outdoor elements. The material may be plastic, rubber, vinyl or the like. The material may be opaque or see through depending on the likes and preferences of the user. The height of the elongated body 12 is tall enough to substantially cover an above ground pool ladder, a diving board ladder, a slide ladder or the like. The height of the elongated body 12 may extend from a top ladder rung to a bottom ladder rung (as seen in FIG. 3). The width of the elongated body 12 is wide enough to overlap the vertical bars of a ladder.

The elongated body 12 extends between a top bar 14 and a bottom bar 16. The top bar 14 and the bottom bar 16 support the shape of the elongated body 12, and assist the elongated body 12 to cover the ladder. The top bar 14 and the bottom bar 16 may be made from PVC, wood, metal or the like.

Attached to the top bar 14 may be a top fastening means 18 a, 18 b, and attached to the bottom bar 16 may be a bottom fastening means 20 a, 20 b. The top fastening means 18 a, 18 b and the bottom fastening means 20 a, 20 b may be available as pairs. The top fastening means 18 a, 18 b may be secured to the top portion of the ladder, whereas the bottom fastening means 20 a, 20 b may be secured to the bottom portion of the ladder. The fastening means 18, 20 may be hooks, hook and loop fasteners (commonly known as Velcro®), snaps, clips, ties or the like to easily attach to the ladder while maintaining a secure hold during use.

Referring not to FIG. 2, a perspective view of the pool ladder cover 10 is shown in a rolled position in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. When not in use, or during storage, the pool ladder cover 10 may be rolled for a more compact body position. The elongated body 12 may roll around the top bar 14 or the bottom bar 16 until the opposing bar is met. As shown, the elongated body 12 is wrapped around the bottom bar 16 so that the bottom bar 16 is secured within the middle of the roll and the top bar 14 is on the outside. In the rolled position, the pool ladder cover 10 is compact for easy storage with other pool accessories in a garage, tool shed, or closet.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a perspective view of the pool ladder cover 10 is shown fastened to a pool 50 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates the pool ladder cover 10 fastened to an above ground pool 50, but it may also be attached to other ladder types to prevent their use as well. The pool 50 includes a wall 52 and a ladder 54. The ladder 54 includes a pair of handlebars 56 at a top portion and a set of rungs 58 that extend from the top to the bottom of the ladder 54. The elongated body 12 of the pool ladder cover 10 may extend from the topmost rung to the bottommost rung. The elongated body 12 prevents access to the pool 50 by blocking access to the rungs 58. The top securing means 18 fastens to the handlebars 56, typically at or above the top rung. The bottom securing means 20 fastens at or below the bottom rung of the ladder 54.

When the pool ladder cover 10 is in place the ladder 54 is blocked from access. This may serve as a security measure to prevent unwanted or unsupervised use of the pool 50 by children, animals, trespassers and the like. With the easy to use securing means 18, 20 the pool ladder cover 10 may be quickly attached and detached from the ladder 54 as desired. Additionally, with the flexible, durable, slippery, all-weather material the elongated body 12, the pool ladder cover 10 is easy to store and able to withstand prolonged weather exposure.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A ladder safety cover comprising: an elongated body, where the elongated body extends along a ladder; a top bar attached to a top portion of the elongated body; a bottom bar attached to a bottom portion of the elongated body; a top securing means attached to the top bar, where the top securing means fastens to a handlebar of the ladder; and a bottom securing means attached to the bottom bar, where the bottom securing means fasten to a bottom portion of the ladder, wherein the elongated body covers a set of rungs along the ladder to prevent use of the ladder when the ladder safety cover is in place.
 2. The ladder safety cover according to claim 1, wherein the elongated body is made from a flexible, durable, slippery, waterproof material.
 3. The ladder safety cover according to claim 2, wherein the material is one of at least vinyl, plastic and rubber.
 4. The ladder safety cover according to claim 2, wherein the material enables the elongated body to roll around itself into a rolled position.
 5. The ladder safety cover according to claim 1, wherein the top securing means and the bottom securing means are one of at least a hook, hook and loop fastener, clip, snap and tie.
 6. The ladder safety cover according to claim 1, wherein the top securing means fastens above a top rung of the ladder.
 7. The ladder safety cover according to claim 1, wherein the bottom securing means fastens below a bottom rung of the ladder.
 8. The ladder safety cover according to claim 1, wherein the top bar and the bottom bar are made from one of at least PVC, wood and metal. 